Thursday, February 17, 2011

Bracket Banter is our daily open thread to discuss all things bracket. Readers can post comments and questions during the night's games, and we will answer those questions as the night goes on.

Thursday's GamesThere are few things better for a bubble team's resume than a late-season road win - regardless of who the opponent is - and that's the challenge facing several bubble dwellers tonight.

In power conference bubble action, Washington State plays at Arizona, Clemson plays at N.C. State, Minnesota plays at Penn State, and Alabama plays at LSU. Minnesota is the safest of those bubble because of their impressive OOC wins over North Carolina and West Virginia, but the Gophers have seen their seed slip in recent weeks because of what they've done - or haven't done - in Big Ten play. They only have one quality conference win (vs. Purdue) and they've lost four of their last five overall. They're going to need to finish 9-9 in conference to get a bid, and if they lose to the Nittany Lions tonight, they'll have to win three of their last four to get there.

Washington State is trying to climb back in the bracket after a home loss to Stanford knocked them out last week. The Cougars, who are just 2-4 in conference road games, play three straight on the road beginning with Arizona tonight. They need to win four of their last five games to stay alive in the at-large mix heading into the Pac-10 tourney. Clemson, meanwhile, begins a tricky week with a trip to Raleigh to take on the Wolfpack (the Tigers play at Miami on Saturday). If they want to be taken seriously as an at-large contender, a 2-0 week is a must.

The final important bubble battle of the night is in the A-10, where Richmond visits Temple. The Spiders are a half game out of first in conference, have won seven of eight, and have a nice OOC win over Purdue on their resume, yet they remain on the bubble because they still have not beaten a quality A-10 opponent. That's not entirely their fault - the schedule broke so that they only face Xavier and Temple once - but they didn't do themselves any favors by losing at home to the Musketeers back on Jan. 19. If the Spiders lose tonight, they can't afford any more losses until the A-10 tourney.

Also keep an eye on: UCLA at Stanford, Washington at Arizona State, Santa Clara at Gonzaga

33 comments:

Dave
said...

How impressive / important of a win was it for Illinois to beat Michigan last night? The Wolverines came in playing very well and the Illini came away with the W. Would a win @ MSU vs a struggling Spartan team still bump them up a line or two?

Illinois is not winning @ the Breslin Center, period. Not the way this team is playing.

Illinois won last night because Michigan was a young team on the road that had neither the size nor athleticism to deal with Illinois' ability to jam the lane with 3 7-footers. Mike Tisdale has always had good games against teams like Michigan, but against teams like MSU where Adrien Payne and Derrick Nix are playing better Tisdale fouls out in less than 20 mins.

Struggling Spartan team??? The Spartans are actually starting to look a lot better. Heck, they played just at well at OSU as any team has this season. I think MSU will beat the Illini at home easy if they execute on the offensive end as well as they did at Ohio St. for most of the game.

What are the opinions on Ole Miss making a late push to get an at large bid? They dropped a critical game Saturday at Alabama but have a chance to win the remaining games on their schedule and possibly win one or two in the conference tournament. That would have them winning 9 out of their last 10 and they have a current RPI of 67.

I'm not kidding when I say this, when do we start considering Penn State? Better in conference record than MSU, Michigan, and Minnesota. Yes, they have a few bad losses, but there are plenty of teams up for consideration who do too (Alabama). If they go 2-2 in their last 4, Wisconsin, OSU, NW, and Minnesota. I think they have a serious case for a bid

Nice win by Penn State tonight, but we can't take the Nittany Lions seriously for an at-large just yet given the schedule they have left (at Wisconsin, at NW, Ohio State, at Minnesota.) They are just 1-7 in true road games this season, and as good as they've been at home, we're not sure they're ready to beat the Buckeyes. There's a much better chance they finish 8-10 than 9-9.

PSU = in if they beat Northwestern and Ohio State at home. 9-9 in conference. They're going to end up with the #1 SOS. Look at the wins. Toughest B10 schedule of anybody.. they got every team this year twice but Indiana and Iowa - the two worst teams.

I'm not sure Penn St would be in at 9-9 even if they got there, not with their brutal non-conference and getting swept by Michigan. It's probably a moot point, they won't be favored in any of their final 4 games (even at Northwestern is no better than 50/50).

Minnesota can't afford any more slip-ups. Their schedule is favorable down the stretch, but they need to finish 9-9 in conference.

Clemson is done unless they can win out and get a win in the ACC tournament. Considering they still have a game at Duke, it's very very unlikely.

Richmond is also in some trouble after getting blasted by Temple tonight. Their season (and Duquesne's) probably comes down to their last game of the season at home against the Dukes.

There is no way Penn State gets in if they go 2-2 the rest of the way.So in the B10 Tournament they probably will go 1-1 and finish at 17-14 with a few bad losses, a couple of good wins(maybe one great one if they can beat Ohio State)in their 31 game season. B101what do you think?

Anon: There's almost no way Utah State will be left out. Their AD is on the committee and whether he has to leave the room or not during Utah State discussion, there is no way they will be left out, unless of course they completely tank down the stretch.

I guess this is why this tournament is interesting...I posted the question about Utah St. which is are they in if they lose to St. Mary and do not win their tournament and Utah. St. implied having the Utah State's AD on the committee(although he's not allowed to talk about Utah State)has influence directly or indirectly.

BattlingDiablo 3 items Spartan team??? The particular Spartans are in reality commencing to appear significantly better. Terrible, these people played out only from effectively from OSU as any team features in 2010. I'm sure MSU may overcom this Illini in your own home simple as long as they implement about the bad end in addition to manyDiablo 3 Gold kaufen people performed from Iowa Saint. for many in the game.

[p]Yet, continually exert understanding with regards to an internet site . This [url=http://www.fashionhermesbagsuk.co.uk]discount hermes bags kelly[/url] kind of bag is a well-known name within the industry of designer bags . If this suit isn't going to fits completely, you should not fret about it, I have ability to cope with the make a difference is only the Herve Leger gown which can be a bit of cake . Most of Hermes bags Cheap replica handbags have been renamed immediately after the popular icons of Hollywood's like Kelly and Birkin . types and types in varied inductive leather at EuroHandbag truly are a open spell using eyes . Coach Outlet Bags Gucci Outlet Presently, gals rather have selecting persons totes which might be streamlined, hip yet still efficient along with in which,Coupons For Coach Outlet Replacement Move bags include the most suitable alternative . Victoria appeared with a hermes handbag birkin in New York

Just as we said before that there could not be such a place as good as New York and Paris for you to meet top stars and [url=http://www.springhermeshandbags.co.uk]hermes handbags birkin[/url] celebrity . Hermes loved types is divided into three parts

Hermes loved types is divided into three parts

Today, Hermes loved types is divided into three parts: Hermes Sellier; La Montre Hermes; and Hermes Parfums . Refer to it's origin, there is a little story: one day of 1984, while the famous celebity Jane Birkin seated next to Hermes CEO [url=http://www.springhermeshandbags.co.uk]hermes handbags sale

[/url] Jean-Louis Dumas on a Paris to London flight, she opened her Hermes-made datebook and a flurry of loose notes fell to the floor.[/p][p]This creates these bags so unique and distinctive brand name of bags within the market area that potential customers wait for these bags with abated breath . Hermes has many masterpieces . In 1961, she wears a white hat and gloves and a green Givenchy dress, with a Kelly Bag to return to the United States, its elegant charming style to try reading charms are not telling secretly Kennedy, a skirt around his fashion dialogue, suddenly bring fashion and round of "Grace agitation" . They are available in a number of different leathers and skins, which is another reason for the beginning price tag of $7000 . Super sized favorites like the Hermes Birkin or Chanel Denim Cabas announce to the world that you take your purse needs very seriously and are willing to pay for it . Thanks to modest sizes, [url=http://www.fashionhermesbagsuk.co.uk]hermes bags kelly[/url] Kelly bag constantly produces exclusive tasteful impression . A massive a component relating to functioning moreover other [url=http://www.fashionhermesbagsuk.co.uk]hermes belts women

Bracketology 101 has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Wall Street Journal and on ESPN Radio affiliates across the country. The site is designed to serve as a more reliable, more accurate alternative to the Bracketology selections of other major sports websites.
Rather than predict teams based on the season ending today, or make wild predictions of the future, Bracketology 101 uses a unique "projection-prediction" method of selecting teams, giving fans a much more realistic idea of where their favorite teams stand in the eyes of the selection committee.
While other bracketologists favor conferences or teams or rely entirely on RPI rankings in making their picks, we factor in a team's resume as a whole - big wins, bad losses, in and out-of-conference wins, upcoming schedules, conference tournament sites, and each team's overall strengths and weaknesses compared to other teams on the bubble. Our "Field of 68" is updated every Monday throughout the season, with daily updates coming during Championship Week.

Join The B101 Team!

Do you want to advertise on Bracketology 101 during March Madness? Do you want to sponsor one of our upcoming daily brackets? E-mail us at bracketologyblog@yahoo.com for ad rates and details.

Follow B101 On Twitter

Bracketology 101 is now on Twitter! To follow B101 on Twitter, just click on the Twitter logo above.

How B101 Stacks Up

The numbers speak for themselves: Over the last five years, Bracketology 101 is the most accurate bracketology site on the Internet. We produced the best bracket in 2006, the second best in 2007 and 2008, and the fifth best in 2009. We are the only bracketologists to produce a Top 5 bracket four of the last five years. No other bracketologist has placed in the Top 5 more than twice. For a complete breakdown of our bracket stats from the last four years, click on the “We’re #1!” logo above.

The 40-60 Club

On top of correctly predicting 64 of the 65 tournament teams in 2008, Bracketology 101 also became the first bracketology site to ever seed 40 teams exactly and 60 teams within one seed line of their actual seed. Through 2010, we are the only bracketology site to earn this distinction.